Richard Gere likes my neighbor better than me

Every year in March there will be awarded a special Dutch award in the city (80.000 idiots habitants) I live in.

So basically that makes us a humongous important city that one particular day in the year. Just like the Northpole is one day in a year, but then without any reindeer and elves.

I should point out that on that day it becomes a complete chaos in front of my door with journalists from all over the world who want to take a pee at my house, warm their hands here, want to pay us for the park lot ticket because they think we are the cash machine thing and entrance, but I always have to tell them that’s next door (at our neighbors place who live next to the entrance).

And that all because of a ‘Geuzenpenning’; yep you’ve read that right ‘a piece of medal’ given to persons or organizations who have fought for democracy and against dictatorship, racism and discrimination and stuff like that.

On their English version of the website they translate the piece of medal into ‘Beggar Medal’. But don’t believe them ya’ll; it has so totally NOTHING to do with beggars and homeless people. I haven’t got the faintest idea why they turned this award in a bunch of vagabonds. ‘De Geuzen’ is a resistance group which was active during World War II around our city; the Geuzen were a collection of armed groups that fought the Spanish occupation of the Low Countries in the 16th century, during the Dutch Revolt. (According to wikipedia)

This particular year, we’re talking 2005 (yes I know that is long ago, but I wasn’t yet incompetent enough to blog about it), the honor was mine: I just won the Blieping price ya’ll!! Aren’t you all proud of me. Yeah I know I kept that a secret; I didn’t put that in my bio, because nobody would ever believe it.., you know.., and you would not be alone; I wouldn’t believe myself either.

Well it could have been a nice item on my resume.

Okayy, so now back to reality: that particular year was for the Tibetan organization ICT of which Richard Gere is the president. It is about Tibetan people and how they had been dissipated, tortured and exiled from their own country. Almost like the american people did with the indians! I hope Richard realizes that too!

The day before this memorable event there were all a lot of camera people, photographers and journalists already passing our house. From the kitchen window we saw a well known female journalist celebrity from the news who had parked her car in front of our house. She took the time (an insane amount of time) to let herself photographed with her mini-car (an actual Mini). It took hours and hours to take a perfect shot of her and her sultry poses, her hair swaying backwards a million times. Just think that we’re talking about 2005 the era when we not yet were swallowed by social media stress, pressure and unrealistic selfie bombs.

It was hard to tell if she planned to throw herself in front of this gentleman Gere, who she apparently was about to meet, to force some kind of instant date with him. I’m not sure if she then planned to show him a bit more of our country totally folded up in her super de luxe Mini car thing dinky toy; that would be very embarrassing for him but maybe entertaining for us. I started wondering if this famous national news correspondent would dump Richard in the ‘Red Light District’ in the middle of Amsterdam right away; to show him where REAL women in RED come from.

Then the long-winded photo-forerunner-of-the-selfie-shoot suddenly was over and she took of with the cameraman to the cityhall in front of our house.

Later that afternoon Jack run upstairs to tell me that Ivo Niehe, a famous tv presenter in Holland, just passed his office window (which is downstairs in our house) walking to the entrance of the public garage which is next to our house. His talkshow is running on tv now for about 38 years and I immediately wanted to chase him to the garage to ask him to do a show about me and my ability to scan people’s body and see if there are hidden aliens or during sleep walking swallowed objects stuck in there; but the hubbie thought that wasn’t such a good idea and tied me to a chair.

It seemed that Richard Gere had already arrived in our town this afternoon according to the news. He already had given a press conference prior to the event the next day. In fact the press conference was a few meters from me and I didn’t even noticed he was already there. He could have waved to me through the kitchen window from which you can look right into all the town hall offices.

So, next day, armed with a photo camera we stood there amongst everybody else waiting for the one and only hot shot famous American Actor who probably really doesn’t have a clue how on earth he ended up in this smelly city (we’re a herring city) and maybe was more wondering about the ‘why’.

To be on the first row of people you have to go and stand there hours ahead; that was at the time because we were’nt officially press yet and so we stood in the middle of the ‘normal ‘ crowd people figures.

I found myself a perfect spot to make pictures for my weblog and new project. It was a very windy and cold day, in the morning; we even have had some hail and snow, so I was already like a frozen popsicle waiting to throw myself over the balustrade to get a perfect shot of Mister Gere. That is if I can make it, maybe it’s better to just let myself drop forward and then I’ll hope I can push this camera button.

I stood next to a house built in the year 1500 and the family who lived upstairs invited me for 50 euro (75 with my daughter too) inside (coffee included) to watch the whole Gere charade upstairs where we would be perfectly able to make ultimate photos.

I think this family suddenly saw this booming business in front of their eyes (which I don’t blame them for) in the form of a hello-you-can-come-up-here-for-€50-to-make-stunning-pictures-of-Richard-Gere-and-to-fall-through-our-balcony-all-together-in-a-sexy-manner-right-in-his-arms kind of thing; I don’t think they made any money this afternoon though.

Watching with total jealousy at the photographers and camera/tvpeople who had their perfect own press area yelling to them “soon I will be part of your clan too you know!”. It was frozen cold that day and with an amount of wind we had to wait outside for hours because celebrities always take their time with ……. uhh… nothing; so it’s their fault if we freeze to death.

By the time Mr. Gere arrived I already had transformed in Elsa from Frozen, but nobody actually had heard of Frozen back then because she wasn’t born yet.

Finally the whole outside ceremony began and we could see Richard very well so I immediately yelled and screamed Richard, Richard!!!! Everybody looked up, except him, which was a major disappointment during this serious, mouse quiet and very depressive ceremony to honor world war hero’s. And I know you shouldn’t yell during this kind of ceremonies, but I think I screamed real soft you know. It was a one time chance that surpassed the importance of a commemoration about an issue happened ages ago and nobody cares about anyway because people remain fighting each other every day so what do they learn at such a ceremony anyway.

Anyhoo; then Richie and the rest of the gang all went inside the town hall; because I think that Rich had to pee there and maybe snack something too, a herring or something like that.

Well we waited and waited, but I think Rich had to do also a number two and me and Rajacenna were already all frozen incredibly at that time. Finally he came out again to walk to the church for more ceremonial stuff there and we weren’t allowed inside (especially me); normal people (crazy thing is: me also apparently) had to wait untill three o’clock again for him to come out the church again.

I already waited all afternoon to make good pictures but when he came out of the city hall he instantly saw me and then he waved to the people at the other side of us!! That wasn’t good for the pictures! Again I screamed “hé Richard! Where are you going?! I’m here!”, but he ignored me surprisingly and rewarded the people from the other side with hand shakes and pictures poses. Thanks Mr. Gere!

When Gere went into the church, people were leaving because they now had seen him and ofcourse photographed him real good except me.

We left also because we were pretty much transformed in walking icicles and were very much disillusioned. At home we put our feet in warm water to defrost them.

At 15:45 we hurried back again to the church waiting for him to come out again. This time we had a much better spot then before and also there were fewer people.

Then he came out and walked with a big smile on his face right towards the front of our row. And ofcourse the big smile was meant for me as you would have guessed and then I jumped right in front of his nose after I climbed the barricade tadaaaa: “hi Richard!”. But he didnt even look at me, instead he gave my mom a hand shake (and probably thought “weird daughter you’ve got there”) and rather a lot of attention and Rajacenna took pictures.

Okay……; Richard Gere doesn’t like me. Well, join the club of Celesta dislikers, if their are any but I can’t imagine. I can perfectly sleep without Richards attention you know; I didn’t like the bloke anyway and even have never seen a movie of his. Ha! I only was there to take pictures so I could brag about him until the end of time. Where my pictures of him are? Well: I forgot to take them!!

Because of my mother Rajacenna never could have taken a picture so good as the close-up here under. He stood right in front of our faces and while shaking my mother’s hand! Well see the other pictures: we didn’t stood their for nothing after all.

As you see on the pics: Raj claimed the copyright of HER photos. Okay. I’m fine. Really.

<silent scream>

Unfortunately we were in the begin period of our KidsTV journey at the time; otherwise we could have done a real interview with him which probably would have ended in one big disaster causing Richard to doubt his own sanity, eat his own shoes inclusive our city’s herring and would have made him run as if he was being chased by some sort of never grown up child obsessed by microphones.

A few hours later we run into our neighbor in front of our house and it was like she was sleep walking or she had seen multiple ghosts.

After checking her condition it seemed she just accidentally ran into Richard Gere the one and only on her way walking home.

My neighbor had not been present at the event today because of working and didn’t even know he was coming to our city. While she was passing our city hall (which is close to our home) she accidentally passed him while he was entering a car and almost fainted because she didn’t expect to run into one of her super hero’s ever. And in contrary of me (who would have jumped around his neck with my camera in the not handy selfie mode) she just, as modest as she is, just nodded and whispered incomprehensible ‘hello’ to the actor man when he himself first greeted her goodbye. Right after that, he opened his car window and gave her a handshake.

That was the very right moment she almost fainted and was she landed in an abrupt state of dreamlike floating. He totally only had eyes for her alone since there were absolutely no other people present at that time. And so she came walking back to her house; in a total state of disbelief, confusion, extacy and amorous state.

‘What just happened?!!!!!’ was the only thing that went through her mind a million times and we were witnessing that very much because her eyes kept popping out and her drooling was a revolation also for us, as well as her head which kept turning nervously into the direction from where she just came from and met the ever so charming fellow from the white screen. Richard Gere had always been one of her idols and she just adored him, so it was really a major deal for her meeting him out of nowhere just in the middle of the street in her own country and almost in her (ours too) own street.

She just didn’t know and suddenly he was there; she totally freaked out when she arrived at her front door and we for sure had never seen her like this before.

So if you want to get to know your neighbors better: just find out who their favorite idols are, book him/her and confront him/her with your neighbor as surprise hahaha.

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